Activists Say Chicago Police Used ‘Stingray’ Eavesdropping Technology During Protests

[friendly_iconoclast]

Source: CBS Chicago

Activists Say Chicago Police Used ‘Stingray’ Eavesdropping Technology During Protests
December 6, 2014 11:19 AM

(CBS) – Activists who have been protesting in Chicago claim they have proof that police have been using so-called “Stingray” technology to eavesdrop on their phones, reports WBBM’s Mike Krauser.

The technology essentially puts up a wall between the user’s phone and their provider, forcing phones in the immediate area to send data to the police instead of the nearest cell towers.

Activists have posted pictures online of a city of marked Chicago emergency management vehicle with what looks like radar on top following protestors. Some have reported that when the vehicle is nearby their phones don’t work properly.

The activists think they’ve found proof police are using stingray technology in a radio exchange between officers on the street and headquarters during a recent protest.

Read more: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/12/06/activists-say-chicago-police-used-stingray-eavesdropping-technology-during-protests/

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The intercepted radio exchange:

[elias49]

1. Pretty slick production.

I'm impressed!

[candelista]

3. Slick as shit.

[DeSwiss]

2. Yeah? And?

You have no rights. You think you do, but you don't.

- YOU. DON'T.

In the Bill of Rights of the United States, there is an attempt to secure certain freedoms and protections by way of mere text on paper. Now while I understand the value of this document and the temporal brilliance of it in the context of the period of its creation, that does not excuse the fact that it is a product of social inefficiency and nothing more.

In other words, declarations of laws and rights are actually an acknowledgment of the failures of the social design. There is no such thing as 'rights' - as the reference can be altered at will. The fourth amendment is an attempt to protect against state power abuse, that is clear. But it avoids the real issue, and that is: Why would the state have an interest to search and seize to begin with? How do you remove the mechanisms that generate such behavior? We need to focus on the real cause.

We have to understand that government as we know it today, is not in place for the well being of the public, but rather for the perpetuation of their establishment and their power. Just like every other institution within a monetary system. Government is a monetary invention for the sake of economic and social control and its methods are based upon self-preservation, first and foremost. All a government can really do is to create laws to compensate for an inherent lack of integrity within the social order.

In society today the public is essentially kept distracted and uninformed. This is the way that governments maintain control. If you review history, power is maintained through ignorance.

~Peter Joseph

K&R

[Psephos]

4. Peter Joseph is stone cold correct.

I wonder if there will be any more films in the Zeitgeist series.

[DeSwiss]

12. There have been.....

- several further editions added since the first Zeitgeist movie was released. The one I posted above is from a segment in the edition entitled: ''Where are we going?''

Zeitgeist is now a movement. Along with many others who could be seen as precursors for possible futures. Sustainable and ecological with decisions made based upon facts, not politics and which function within the resource-based limits.

There will be plenty of plans ready for when this shit collapses - for those who want to live free.

http://thezeitgeistmovement.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheValhallaMovement

http://thevenusproject.com/

http://earthship.com/

http://www.permies.com/

[reACTIONary]

9. Why would the state have an interest to search and seize to begin with?

RE: Why would the state have an interest to search and seize to begin with?

- Because the state is the institution in society that enforces justice, and that requires search and seizure.

RE: All a government can really do is to create laws to compensate for an inherent lack of integrity within the social order.

- All conceptions and systems of justice require enforcement in order to implement justice. There is no escaping this reality. Search and seizure is necessary to justice, whatever your notion of justice might be, and whether it is something you are willing to accept or not.

RE: Just like every other institution within a monetary system.

- Ah! I see! Money is the root of all evil. Get rid of money and you will get rid of injustice! LOL, good luck with that.


PS - I went ahead and looked up Peter Joseph and the Zeitgeist Movement. It's funny. Very, very amusing.

[blkmusclmachine]

5. "Nothing is beyond our reach. NOTHING."

Thanks, 9/11...

[billhicks76]

10. Inside Job

Lesser minds can't accept it though.

[Mnpaul]

6. Their use here has been exposed as well

Minnesota’s top law enforcement agency agreed to terms set by the FBI to resist any attempts by the public to gain information about controversial cellphone-tracking technology, according to documents obtained by the Star Tribune.

The revelation comes after a lengthy attempt to obtain contracts and nondisclosure agreements for the FBI’s cellphone tracking devices, known as StingRay II and KingFish. The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has long resisted disclosure requests from the public, news media and even the Minnesota Legislature, saying that doing so would violate trade secrets and expose investigative techniques that could be exploited by criminals. The most recent documents were released to the Star Tribune only after the Information Policy Analysis Division, which interprets the state’s open records law, determined they could not be withheld in their entirety.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/284945781.html

I'm wondering if someone can write an app that shows cell tower ID. You would be able to spot them in an instant with that.

[bananas]

15. There are apps that do that.

Here's one, it logs and displays cell and wifi id, signal strength, etc.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hotrod.utility.rfsignaltrackereclair&hl=en

RF Signal Tracker
Ken Hunt - February 17, 2013
Tools

Description

The RF Signal Tracker is an engineering
application for doing impromptu hand-held
drive-tests with your Android phone. You can
monitor the RF and WiFi signal strength for
the device as well as the serving cell locations
and hotspots, describe a cell site's zone of
coverage, identify changes in technology and
handover points, and save and playback that
data. While many of the phone stats in the
app can be displayed on the phone already
(go to Settings -> About -> Status to see
them). The advantage of this app is you can
then map, record, and analyze, and share that
data in a meaningful way.

[paleotn]

7. das gestapo will stop at nothing....

...and I mean nothing. Civil rights? What civil rights?

[truebrit71]

8. If this is accurate then it is very worrying indeed....

...."land of the free" my ass...

[ForgoTheConsequence]

11. bootlickers will be here any minute to defend this.

...

[woo me with science]

14. +1 Propaganda machine.

Expect alerts.

[IDemo]

13. Documents Suggest Maker of Controversial Surveillance Tool Misled the FCC

New documents obtained by the ACLU of Northern California appear to show the Florida-based Harris Corporation misleading the Federal Communications Commission while seeking authorization to sell its line of Stingray cell phone surveillance gear to state and local police. The documents raise the possibility that federal regulatory approval of the technology was based on bad information. The ACLU today wrote a letter to the FCC asking for an investigation.

Harris's Stingray devices have come under sustained scrutiny in recent months because of their capacity to violate the constitutional privacy rights of large numbers of people, both suspects and innocent bystanders alike. Because Stingrays interfere with cell phone networks by mimicking cell towers and tricking phones into reporting back their identifying information, location, and other data, the FCC must sign off on the technology before it is sold to state and local police.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-technology-and-liberty/documents-suggest-maker-controversial-surveillance